Resident Evil: New Beginnings
by Shizuka Maboroshi
Summary: Rebecca, Billy, Chris, Claire, Leon, Jill, and Carlos all find themselves facing a new terror, created by none other than Albert Wesker...little do they know that there are more secrets in store for them.
1. Prologue

                        -Disclaimer- I don't own anything but the storyline idea…that's about it…

            Signs of an intense storm approaching were very much evident outside. Albert Wesker paid no heed to the darkening sky as he sat in front of the computer terminal typing furiously. This time he would make them suffer for all of their meddling. Finding what he was evidently looking for, he leaned back and let out a soft chuckle. This plan was flawless in every way. Soon they would know the meaning of true terror like never before…

It had been two years since the gruesome and ghastly events that shook the lives of the STARS members and the others who had experienced the zombie episodes from Hell. Now that Raccoon City was basically obliterated from existence, our former STARS members have moved to a closer location, Magnus, a city that lay not too far from the present day crater that was once Raccoon City.

Claire and her brother Chris Redfield both live in a small apartment in Magnus. Chris and Claire, along with Jill Valentine, Carlos Oliviera and Leon Kennedy all remain and have formed a small organization, determined to prevent what happened two years ago. Rebecca Chambers, former member of the STARS Bravo Team is now a popular singer and idol. She appears on TV everywhere and has grown quite popular in the past year and a half. Now twenty she is a beautiful young star. Currently she is touring in Magnus…

Billy Coen, former convict, now lives in Los Angeles. Not long after escaping from the terrors he and Rebecca Chambers faced together did he find out his innocence regarding the murder of the 23 people revealed. He now works in a junkyard in LA. Billy enjoys his new life in LA, but he still remembers the short time he spent with Rebecca Chambers, and can't help but wonder what she is doing now. Not one to watch music channels or news, he doesn't yet know that she is the popular singer BoA, who sings the songs on the radio that he listens to as he works... (A/N: I do not own the name BoA or any of her songs for that matter...for those of you who know this singer...hehehe...)

Little do these people know-the nightmare is about to begin again...and this time they will find themselves delving into secrets they never before believed could exist...secrets that lie within themselves...

~~~

Yea…this is my first time doing a RE fanfic, so bear with me…please tell me what you guys think!


	2. New Lives

Claire sighed as she set her paperwork down. Working with the others in their small nameless organization was hard work...not to mention she hadn't slept well in days.  Recently she'd begun having recurring nightmares of the walking undead. Shuddering, she brushed the thought aside and stood to greet Jill as she entered the room. "What? You're still doing that paperwork? Claire, you've been going at that for hours now!" exclaimed Jill. "Yea, I know. This was so much easier when we had Rebecca..." she trailed off as she thought of the sweet, mild mannered girl. Jill nodded in agreement and they both stood there in a deep silence. "I think Chris took it the hardest...I know he still has feelings for her..." murmured Claire, talking more to herself than to Jill.

            "Well, aside from that, we need to get going. The boys are already heading to the diner and there's a nasty storm brewing." said Jill grabbing her friend and coworker by the arm and tugging her out of the office. 

            "Man...they're late." Muttered Leon in an irritated tone as he watched the weather outside turn for the worse. At least it hadn't started raining yet. Chris leaned against the wall of the diner and didn't reply. Glancing at a listless Carlos, he shifted his gaze outside. They'd be around soon. Claire was rarely ever on time for things anyway. It was Claire's birthday, after all. Today was supposed to be all about her. With this thought in mind, he relaxed. 

_The previous day…_

            "I'm still not sure about this, Mike." Said Billy Coen scratching his head and regarding his friend with a skeptical look. "Come on Bill, this is the chance of a lifetime! Two FREE tickets to fly to Magnus to actually meet BoA and sit at her concert tomorrow! How many guys wouldn't WANT to meet that broad!" Billy shrugged. Since he never really watched music video he had no clue what she looked like…all he knew was he liked her music. "Come on man! You know I wouldn't ask you unless I'd really want you to!" Sighing in defeat Billy gave in. "Ok, ok, I'll do it! Jeez…" he finally said and watched as his friend and roommate hooted and ran off to get ready. Shaking his head he turned and headed off to get packed himself.

                                                ****

            Rebecca Chambers sat before the mirror of her dressing room. How many times had she sat here before now? Staring silently at her reflection she pondered these words as her hair stylist teased and tossed her mop of fiery red hair. Today she would greet two lucky fans who had won the chance to have dinner with her and front row seats to her concert today. In reality she wasn't completely comfortable with this arrangement, but had agreed to do it anyway. It had been two years since that terrible incident at the two mansions in Raccoon City. _"Why am I thinking about this now?"_ she thought to herself. _"I'm an idol now…all that's in the past. I quit working for STARS…so why do I still have this nagging feeling that there's something wrong with this picture?"_ sighing to herself she thought about Billy. Reaching into the pocket of her pants, she withdrew and slowly fingered the dog tags she had taken from him two years ago. Smiling sadly to herself she recalled their farewell. She regretted not looking back. She wondered where he was and if he was happy. She had heard some time ago about him being acquitted of all charges…too bad everyone here thought him deceased. _"He probably has a new woman in his life by now…someone his age with gorgeous brown eyes and long flowing blond hair and a perfect body with a perfect personality."_ She thought in dismay. Before she could dwell in her thoughts any longer, her stylist spoke, snapping her out of her daze. "Ok, all done. Your manager said to meet him downstairs for a quick run through of your moves for the concert. Your fans will be there to watch that and then you'll head out for your dinner engagements…although I don't particularly want you going out in that weather just to ruin all the work I just did with your hair and make-up." she said glancing out the window of the room and observing the dark weather outside. 

            Rebecca smiled a small smile. "It's ok, I'll make sure to be extra careful." She said as she stood and checked herself. She was dressed in a rather seductive get-up…tight black leather pants with a black tank top that cut off at the stomach in a diamond cut with red jewels all around the diamond design. The top was cut in a diamond shape in the back so most of her pale skin in the back was exposed. Accompanied with her small glittering ruby tear-drop earrings in her ears and black gloves with the fingers out and black boots she hoped she didn't look too flashy, even though she was an idol. Casting one final glance into the mirror at herself, she slipped on a pair of shades and hurried off to meet up with her manager.


	3. A Storm Approaches

Jill and Claire hurried into the diner, trying to escape the rain that had begun to fall in a steady, heavy pace. "Took you guys long enough," Said Carlos as he helped Jill out of her wet jacket while Leon helped Claire out of hers. "Yeah, sorry about that." Said Jill in an apologetic tone. "We got caught up in work and the weather." The group entered the main area of the restaurant, and after being seated they settled in their seats, pouring over their menus. "Wow...there's so much to order from...and just look at these prices!" exclaimed Claire in surprise. "Don't worry about it, birthday girl. This one's on us. Just relax and enjoy yourself." Said Jill giving her a reprimanding look. Not wanting to cause anymore trouble, Claire grudgingly nodded and resumed looking over the menu. As they all sat mulling over what they wanted, the small TV that hung over them cut on and a music video started. Chris looked up in surprise as a familiar red head appeared. It was one of Rebecca's music videos. In this one she was in a hair salon singing and dancing away, a smile on her delicate features. Two years...it had been two years since he had met up with her in the mansion. He wondered if she was truly happy now that she had made it big in the singing business. He sighed to himself and looked away from the TV, back to his menu. Even after all this time he still had feelings for her...

Claire noticed the sadness in her brother's eyes as he sighed and watched as Rebecca performed on the TV. She knew he still loved her and she hated not being able to console him in his moments of pain. She wondered if he'd ever really stop loving the girl.

"Hey...where is everybody?" at Leon's words, Claire looked up, her thoughts interrupted. Jill looked around confused. "I don't know...isn't this place usually crowded on Friday nights?" she asked. "I thought it was too...but there's practically no one here!" observed Leon looking at the empty booths save for the couple sitting in the far right corner near the back entrance. "That's strange...I don't think a little storm would keep that many people away from here..." muttered Claire. "Aside from that, where did the waitress that we had go? I haven't seen her since she seated us." Said Chris.

            "I don't like the way this feels..." said Claire quietly as she watched the darkness setting in with the rain, recalling her recent nightmares.  "You guys are overreacting, it's probably just a slow night and the waitress is probably tied up in the kitchen or something. Chill out." He said in his thick Spanish accent. "Maybe..." murmured Claire as she continued staring out the window.

                                                *****

            Billy stepped into the large building the manager had said to be at and sighed in irritation. He couldn't believe Mike had forced him to come here and then backed out on him!_ "Man…I'm really sick…I don't feel too hot…you go alone man and tell me how you liked it…"_

            "Excuse me, are you Michael Savage?" said a short Asian woman walking toward him with a clipboard in hand. "No, I'm Billy Coen, the guy who was supposed to come with him…Mike couldn't make it so he sent me without him." After scrutinizing Billy for a second she nodded and led him down the hall and into a large room. "Have a seat…she will be here shortly." Obeying the woman Billy took a seat in the darkened seating area and turned his eyes toward the brightly lit stage, watching as the dancers stretched and awaited their lead dancer.

                                                *****

            Rebecca stood in the lobby of the studio waiting for her producer. Where had he gone? It wasn't like Wakayama to be late for their appointments. Trying to keep her panic down, she closed her eyes, removed her shades, and leaned against the wall. As she stood there she found her thoughts drifting back to Billy. "I wonder if I'll ever get to see him again...?" she pondered aloud. Before she could pursue this thought, she heard a soft scratching noise coming from the counter of the reception desk. Looking up, she looked around for the clerk. She was nowhere to be seen. Rebecca could feel the hairs on her neck slowly standing on end. Suddenly she became aware of how dim the room was...since when had the lights been so dark in this room anyway? Shaking the thought from her head, she turned back to the desk as the scratching sound resumed. She nervously moved over to the desk her anxiety rising...

            At that moment, a dark figure leapt from the shadows of the desk and landed on Rebecca's leg. Letting out a small shriek, she stumbled back and stared down in terror at...the small gray kitten that clung innocently to her leg. Chuckling to herself she bent over and scooped up the trembling creature. "How'd you get in here? Aww, you're a cutie. You must have been trying to get away from that storm." She said as she smiled at the small kitten playfully. Suddenly she froze…all the hairs on her back were standing on end…and she was trembling…her body felt as if it was one large electrical conductor…she was so engrossed in her current condition that she almost didn't notice the dark figure slowly coming up from behind her until the kitten began to hiss darkly at something behind her. Alarmed, she whirled around and shrieked in terror…

                                                *****

                Wesker crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the lab. It was only a matter of time now...soon things would become interesting and he'd have some fun...but for now he would just have to wait...

Got a lot of these chapters finished…I was just too shy to put up this story till now. Well, I'll put up more when I get some reviews. Tell me what you guys think!


	4. The Horror Begins Again

Billy sat in the audience, an impatient look on his face. It had been almost an hour since he had sat down. Even the dancers had begun to show signs of their obvious impatience. And to top things off he could have sworn the place had gotten eerier since he'd first arrived here. It was almost like that one time...shaking his head he quickly disregarded the thought. There was no way...but still...wasn't this place barely an hour away from what used to be Raccoon City? Not wanting to think about it anymore he shut his eyes and concentrated on thinking about the current situation with BoA...

                                    *****

            "This is ridiculous...it's almost been an hour now!" exclaimed Leon. Even Carlos had to admit that this was getting out of hand. "That's it...I'm going to go see the manager." Said Jill getting up and making her way toward the kitchen. "I'll come too!" said Claire eager to take her mind off of things. As Chris watched the two walk off, he glanced up at the small TV above them. Still more music videos. Sighing, he turned and looked over at the couple sitting across the room. They seemed to be staring and pointing at something out the window in terror. Suddenly he felt cold…something was wrong…terribly wrong. Standing up, he turned to where Jill and Claire had gone, worry written all over his face. However, before he could follow after them, the sound of shattering glass filled the air, followed by sounds that had become all too familiar to them all. The three men watched in horror as a small group of zombies burst into the room and attacked the couple. The woman screamed and turned to run, but tripped over a table, sending platters of food and chairs plummeting to the floor in a resounding crash.

            "What was that?" said Jill whirling around. Claire didn't respond as she slowly approached the kitchen door. Stepping up to the double doors, she peered into the kitchen, her eyes slowly searching for any sign of life. There was a grill still hot and steamy, remnants of burning food remained, but no one was tending to it. Curious, Claire leaned in for a closer look...

            Chris, who was now sweating heavily, analyzed the current situation. He watched in horror as the helpless woman was devoured by the ravenous group of zombies. Something wasn't right. Umbrella was supposed to have been defeated! So then where did these zombies come from? 

            Before he could think any further, Chris was interrupted by a very frantic Carlos. "What's going on here?! Where in the hell did they come from?!" Carlos backed away from the scene, ready to retreat at any second.

            "What are we gonna do? If they're here then that means that half the town is probably infected by now!" exclaimed Leon, his eyes never leaving the monsters. 

            "I don't know," replied Chris as he scanned the restaurant for a safe escape route for both them and the girls. "Whatever it is, we need to figure it out fast. I only have my Baretta and it's only got 10 bullets in it."

            "10 bullets?! It takes _at least_ one whole magazine to take out those things! We'll never make it out here with just that many bullets!" exclaimed Carlos.

            "Yea, I know," replied Chris grimly. Before he could think any further, they were startled by a loud shriek from where Jill and Claire had disappeared. "Oh no, Claire!" exclaimed Chris running in the direction the two females had disappeared earlier. 

                                                            ****

            "Whoa, calm down babe, it's just me!" 

            Rebecca winced at the name as her assistant director and possibly the sleaziest man alive, David Bruce smirked at her. He was tall and lanky with shoulder length dirty blonde hair that he kept pulled back into a ponytail with a small goatee. Rebecca watched in disgust as his small green eyes took in her outfit greedily. "Lookin' good as usual babe." He said with an admiring smirk. 

            "Please quit calling me 'babe', I've asked you not to do that before," said Rebecca in a somewhat irritated tone. "And where's Mr. Wakayama? We're late for rehearsals." 

            "Aww, don't be like that, babe. Ya know I only call ya that because you're my number one favorite in the music business!" said David slinging an arm over her shoulders. Shrugging off his arm, Rebecca concentrated on not getting angry. "Look, I don't have time for this. Where is Mr. Wakayama? We have to get this rehearsal done so I can greet my guests." 

            "Well, hon, to be honest with ya, nobody knows. We haven't seen him all day, and it seems the storm has knocked out our phones...we can't reach him," said David as he shrugged. "They sent me over here to deliver you to the rehearsals instead." 

            Rebecca frowned. The storm out there was heavy, but it wasn't enough to simply knock out the phone lines all over the city. However, before she could think about it anymore, a bloodcurdling scream sounded from the auditorium. "What was that?" she said, a cold fear enveloping her. "I don't know...you stay here!" said David reaching into his pocket and pulling out a gun. "If anything happens, there's a handgun and some bullets in the storage room down that hall. If you hear any shooting, I want you to run. You got me?" Rebecca nodded and watched as he ran off toward the auditorium.

                                                            ****

            Billy jumped up in his seat at the sound of the scream. How long had he been sleeping? Looking around in a dazed state, he attempted to gather his wits. Looking over to the stage, he watched in confusion as the dancers scrambled and fled in terror from some unseen force, shrieking in horror. What was going on? And where was BoA? Standing to his feet, Billy made his way to the stage. Before he could get too far, he stopped dead in his tracks. "No...it can't be..." he whispered in disbelief as he backed away slowly...

                                    ~~~~~~~

That's it for that chapter! I'll put the next one up in a bit!


	5. Danger around every corner

Jill was debating on whether to leave Claire alone for a moment to go check up on the boys when she heard Claire's scream. She quickly spun around in time to see Claire jump back from the kitchen door as something hit the glass on the door. Curious, she followed Claire's terrified gaze to the glass. Gasping, she took a step back as she watched a nasty, decaying and emotionless face stare at her through the glass with sunken, bloodshot eyes. Choking back her cries of terror, she ran over to Claire and helped her up. "We have to get out of here! NOW!" she exclaimed snapping Claire out of her dazed state. The two girls turned just in time to see Chris run in breathing heavily. "Are you two ok?!" he demanded as he looked Claire up and down checking for signs of any wounds. "Yes...let's just get out of here!" exclaimed Claire. They all turned at the sound of Carlos' cry for help. "C'mon!" exclaimed Chris motioning for the girls to follow. 

            They arrived in the main diner area in time to see a zombie latch onto a struggling Leon. Carlos was busy dodging two other zombies nearby as the male from the couple lay on the ground nearby crying out in agony. His companion lay motionless in a thick, vermilion puddle of her own blood. Chris grimaced and Claire looked away. "Why? Why is this happening again?" said Jill in a emotionally strained voice, her eyes stinging with tears of fury. "Who could have...?" before she could finish her thought, an explosion sounded outside the diner and everyone just barely jumped out of the way as a flaming truck flew through the windows of the building and slammed into the walls. 

            Stunned, Claire lay on the ground unmoving. Jill stood, coughing through the smoke and haze. "Claire! Leon! Carlos! Chris!" she looked around frantically before spotting Carlos lying on the ground unmoving. She hurried over to him and helped him up. "Hey...you ok?" she said looking him over. Letting out a chain of coughs, Carlos nodded. "Where is everyone else?" Jill shook her head. They're around here somewhere in this mess. Help me find them…"

                                                ****

            He didn't know how he had gotten himself into this trouble. He only knew that his chances of survival were slim to nothing, but he'd have to try. Billy took off running the second he saw the zombies on the stage. He wanted to help the people on the stage, but he knew that it would be a futile attempt since he was unarmed and unprepared. Heading out the door and into the main hall, he stopped dead in his tracks. 

            "FREEZE!" There in the hall stood a tall, lanky man pointing a gun at him. Billy froze and put his hands up in the air. "Who are you?" demanded the guy, sizing him up with his fierce green eyes.

            "Billy...Billy Coen. I'm the guy here to see BoA..." "Don't know ya. Don't go makin' no dumb moves, else I'll hafta shoot ya. What ya doin' runnin' pal?"

            Billy, impatient with this rude man, shifted his weight to his right leg. "Look, I'll be real short with you, because chances are, as it is now, neither of us is going to live to see tomorrow. There's some crazy stuff lurking in this city, and if you don't get out of here now, you're not going to make it."

            "Whatever. You mind not sellin' me this bull cuz I'm not buyin', bud."

            Frustrated, Billy lost his cool. "Look, I'm telling you, let me go and get out of here before it's too late!"  "Save it for the cops, bud. Now I'll just have to ask ya to....AHHHH!  WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" exclaimed David. Billy spun around to see a leech monster slowly making its way toward them. "Shit...get out of my way!" shouted Billy rushing David, knocking him off his feet and dashing down the hall. "H-hey! What is that thing?" yelled David staring in terror as it half slid, half-limped its way toward him...it's leeches spilling all over the ground. "JUST RUN!" yelled Billy.

 David scrambled to his feet and pointed the gun at the monster, letting off a few rounds. Unaffected, the monster lashed out, knocking the gun from his hand. Terrified, David let out a scream and took off running in the direction Billy had gone.

Rebecca tensed at the sound of the gunshot and the scream. After a moment's hesitation, she turned and fled for the hall closet. As she hurried, she was unaware of the creature that was creeping nimbly up the ceiling above her. Turning the corner, she spotted the door to the closet and let out a sigh of relief...right as a licker dropped from the ceiling blocking her path.

That's all I've got for now! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon! In the meantime, let me know what you guys think! ^^


	6. Switching to Survival Mode

After extinguishing most of the flames from the truck, Jill, Carlos, Chris, Claire, and Leon all stood contemplating the situation. "What's going on here? How did this happen?" murmured Chris. Claire stood off to a wall, leaning against it, her face unreadable. Carlos was leaning over what was left of the man from the couple. Shaking his head, he looked away from the frozen look of anguish painted on the man's face. Leon stood near the opening of the building, looking out for zombies until they thought up a plan. "What do we do now?" said Jill. "We can't just simply escape this time. We need to find out who did this and fast. That bastard's gonna pay for this!" she raged, slamming her fist into the palm of her hand. "First, we need weapons." Said Chris. "Without some serious fire power, we're done for." 

"Where are we going to get that?" said Carlos. "The nearest gun shop is a 10 minute walk from here and that street is swarming with the walking undead!"

Claire pushed herself from the wall and stepped forward. "I'll go. I'm small and fast. I'll be hard for the zombies to get." "Out of the question," said Chris. "I'm not going to let my only sister go out there unarmed and defenseless and be slaughtered by those monsters."

"I'm going Chris. Try and stop me," said Claire staring him down. Chris knew he had lost. "Ok, Leon, you go with her. And take this," said Chris tossing his gun to Leon. "Take care of my little sister, ok?" Leon nodded as he followed Claire out of the safety of the building.

                                    ****

Rebecca was seized with a cold fear. "Oh...my...God..." she said in a voice barely above a whisper. She watched in horror as the thing moved closer and closer. "NO!" she screamed as she turned and fled. "NONONONONONONNONONONO!!" She could hear the thing gaining on her, its greedy breaths echoing over the sounds of her own desperate gasps of air and frantic footsteps. "PLEASE...SOMEBODY HELP ME! ANYBODY!" she yelled in desperation as she sprinted down the halls knocking over various objects to slow the thing down. She spotted the main exit in the distance and her heart fluttered in anticipation. "Yes!!" she thought as she hurried toward the door...

The licker dropped directly in front of her and hissed, licking it's long, slimy tongue. Startled, Rebecca came to a halt and fell over backwards, scooting back and away from the thing choking back her tears of frustration she let out a strangled cry as the licker drew closer...

Billy could have sworn it was her voice. No...it couldn't be Rebecca. Why would she be here in this God Forsaken place? Yet still...he had to see. If it was her, it sounded like she was in serious trouble. Billy loaded a magazine in the gun he found in the reception desk and hurried off, following the sounds of running feet and crashing noises.

Rebecca rolled away from the licker gasping for air. She had been dodging it for too long and it had finally tired her out. Before she could make another move, the thing jumped on her, throwing her on her back. Helpless, Rebecca squeezed her eyes shut and waited for it to be over.

Suddenly gunshots filled the air and the licker was thrown off her. It lay motionless in a pool of its own blood, twitching ever so slightly. Stunned, Rebecca rolled over and slowly pushed herself up, her back to the man. She stood, dusting herself off, too embarrassed to look her savior in the eye. "Thank you..." she managed to say.

"...Rebecca?" came the deep voice reply. She froze, her back still to her rescuer. No...it couldn't be. Billy was long gone. And yet...as she slowly turned around she felt her heartbeat as it raced. Could it really be him...?

Billy watched as the girl stiffened at the sound of his voice. So it was her. He could hardly believe it as he watched her turn to him, her face in complete disbelief. After these couple years she still looked the same. He glanced at her outrageous outfit. What was that all about? The last time he checked, she was a quiet, modest girl who would never be caught dead in something like that. Before he could think on it further, he noticed her eyes were filled with tears. "Billy...it is you," she said softly. "It's been awhile, huh?" he said casually, hiding his joy at seeing her too.

Rebecca let out a long sigh and leaned against a nearby wall, her face pale and horror stricken. "I thought I was done for...why? Why is this happening again?" she said, her voice rising hysterically. "I quit STARS so this would never happen again!! I..."

Billy cut her off. "Look, you can't dwell on it like this. We gotta get out of here and away from this town. The only way we can do that is if you calm down and think logically like before when we were together." He said. Resisting the urge to pull her into his arms, he checked her for any injuries. How long had he wished to see her again...to touch her? It was just unfortunate that they had to meet under these circumstances again.

 Although he had feelings for her, he didn't know whether or not she had found someone herself. He knew she had to have forgotten about him over the years. Not looking her in the eye, he looked over at the licker, half expecting it to jump back up for another round.

Rebecca didn't find his distant actions surprising. She figured he had another girl waiting at home for him. Shaking her head slightly, she quickly shifted into survival mode. Things looked grim, but she wasn't about to just lie down and die. She'd go down fighting if she had to. "Right," she said turning to the main entrance. "My car's right outside, so we should be able to escape from town with it." She said pointing to the door. "Ok, let's go." Said Billy following her lead.

Running to the double doors, Rebecca turned the handle...but before she could get the door fully open, razor sharp teeth snapped and chopped through the air as a pack of zombie dogs attacked the door. Startled, Rebecca quickly slammed the door shut and backed away as clawing sounds and muffled snarls filled the air. 

"Great, just great." Said Billy. Rebecca contemplated the matter. There was another way out of the building, but they'd have to hurry before the concentration of monsters could get any worse. Turning to Billy, she gestured down the hall. "We can get out of here through the emergency exit door. The only problem is, it's on the other side of the building. We'll have to go through at least three hallways to get there, and I don't know how many of those things are in this building...or anything else for that matter." Said Rebecca. "That's a chance we'll just have to take. But first, we need to find some better weapons..." said Billy looking around. Rebecca shook her head "Well, you won't find any here. We can find some once we get out of the building, I'm sure. How many bullets do you have left?" "Thirty-four, not including the ones left in the gun," said Billy. "We'll just have to make do with what we've got. Come on, let's go."


	7. Public Announcement

Claire shot past a group of zombies running at top speed as Leon followed in close pursuit. "How much longer do we have?" gasped Clare as she narrowly missed being grabbed by a large voluptuous woman in a blood splattered sundress. "Not much longer, it's just a block away." Said Leon.

As they hurried through the downpour of rain dodging zombies and zombie dogs, they were unaware of the large mansion that loomed in the far distance beyond the trees of the forest. Little did they know that there dwelled a most deadly evil...

                        ****

Wesker watched the commotion on the streets with amusement. Soon, they'd all flock to him like pigs to a slaughter. With a little guidance on his part, of course. Turning from his post by the window, he walked over to an elevator, got in, and headed down.

Once he reached the lower level he desired, he strode over to a large capsule filled with a transparent blue liquid...there, floating in the watery mass was the key to his plan...smiling to himself, he pressed a small remote and waited as the liquid in the tank drained slowly...

                        ****

Rebecca peeked around the corner. Seeing nothing, she motioned for Billy to follow and slowly made her way across the hall. So far they had managed to dodge a few zombies and take out two lickers without much trouble, but they weren't safe yet. They had entered the large broadcasting room of the building. One side of the walls was completely covered in TVs. Stepping carefully and cautiously, as if waiting for something to jump out of nowhere and attack, Billy looked out as Rebecca searched the room for possible helpful items. Suddenly it occurred to Billy that she knew quite a lot about this building. Furthermore, why was she even here in the first place? He knew she certainly wasn't here to play music, especially after listening to her piano playing skills. Looking over at her, he spoke: "How do you know your way around the building so well? And what are you doing here in the first place?" he said. "Billy...don't you know? I..." she never got to finish her sentence as all the TVs flipped on, cutting her off. Rebecca froze as she came face to face with none other than Lucifer himself in the form of Albert Wesker...

                        ****

Claire stepped over the shattered and broken glass of the gun shop as Leon stood guard in the entrance. Looking around, she spotted the gun rack on a nearby wall and ran over to it and quickly began grabbing all the guns she could get her hands on. She took two shotguns, two rifles, 2 Uzi's, and four handguns and tossed them in a pile on the floor. Heading over to the ammunition corner, she set down the small knapsack she had picked up from a nearby counter and filled it with plenty of ammunition. Picking the bag up, she slung it over her shoulders. Bending over and picking up the two Uzi's, she loaded them and returned to Leon's side, tossing him a magazine for his gun. Reloading the gun, Leon looked back at her pile of weapons. "How are we supposed to carry those things back to them...?" he said. "Simple," she replied. "We 'borrow' a car." She said with a sly smile. Before Leon could reply, the TV in the window of the adjacent store flipped on and a familiar pair of shaded eyes regarded them with a sneer...

                        ****

Jill, Chris, and Carlos stood watching the diner's small TV in a mixture of anger and shock. Wesker smiled evilly at them from behind a TV screen.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my former STARS comrades. How have you all been doing? You must be dying to know what's going on," he said laughing at his own joke. But, I must say, this looks like it might actually be interesting to see how you get out of this one alive. Really, you can just get out of this city and escape at any time, but where's the fun in that? I'd just find you again and it'd be a vicious cycle, so let me propose a much more...enticing idea if you will. I'm here at the old Winston Manor, I've got some old acquaintances here eagerly awaiting your arrival, and I even have a few surprises in store for you."  At those words, the sound of a female's laugh could be heard. Smirking, Wesker continued. "I trust you're all up for the challenge? I'll be here waiting...that is, if you survive this time..." the TVs cut off as Wesker's laugh mixed with the mysterious female's laughter filled the air...

"THAT BASTARD!" raged Jill. Chris too was barely able to contain his fury. Wesker had gone too far this time. He had to be stopped, and soon. Turning to look back into the stormy night, he hoped Claire would hurry. They had some unfinished business to take care of...

                        ****

Claire grunted angrily as she swerved to miss a throng of zombies feeding on a poor helpless dog. As she drove, swerving here and there to avoid hitting wrecked, totaled cars and groups of zombies, Leon held on for dear life. He recalled the transmission with Wesker. Just what the Hell was he up to? He couldn't believe someone could be that cruel and cold hearted...and who was that with him standing in the shadows in the far background? Puzzled, Leon mulled over these thoughts as they flew recklessly down the road...

                        ****

Rebecca could barely contain her anger as she violently slammed the drawer of the desk she had been searching for vital items shut. This time, Wesker had gone too far. He was going to pay for this if it was the last thing she did. 

Billy watched as Rebecca slammed the same desk door shut for the third time the past five minutes. "Man, she is really angry." He thought as he watched her eyes narrow spitefully. "Ok, there's nothing here, let's go...we've only got a little ways left to go." Said Rebecca turning and heading for the door. Billy said nothing as he followed behind her, keeping his eyes out for any lurking terrors that may be close by. 


	8. Real Friends Don't let Crazy Friends Dri...

"So what do we do now?" said Carlos eyeing their grim surroundings. The rain had let up, but the sky remained the same, dark and foreboding, like a dark omen. Jill looked over to Chris, waiting for his reply. Chris gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists. "What else? We go after that scum Wesker. He's destroyed enough lives, he's no better than Umbrella. This time, he's going down," he spat, venom dripping from his every word. Little did they know, they weren't alone...

                        ****

Claire felt a satisfying 'thump' as she ran over a lone zombie dog that had attempted to jump through the windshield to get to her and Leon. "That'll teach the little bastard to mess with me..." she muttered. Smiling wickedly to herself, she sped up, as if challenging any other monsters to "mess" with her. Leon, still holding on for dear life watched her from the passenger's side. "Remind me never to cross you..." he said in a half-amused, half-serious tone. Claire didn't respond as she spotted the diner. Something was wrong...

"Leon! What's going on over there?" she said. Leon looked ahead and paled. Carlos was lying in a pool of blood and Jill was apparently trying to dodge some large ape-like creature. But where was Chris? Frantic, Claire came to a screeching halt not too far from the scene of action and burst from the large SUV, guns blazing. Leon jumped out of the car and hurried to get suitable weapons for the others. 

After taking out the ape that had attacked Carlos and Jill, Claire turned to Jill as Leon tossed Jill a rifle and rushed to tend to Carlos. "Where's my brother, Jill?' said Claire, urgency clear in her voice. Jill shook her head. "The idiot's gone mad. He took off for the mansion before that thing attacked us saying when you come back to take you and get out of this town, like he thinks we can't handle something like this," scoffed Jill with obvious irritation.

Claire was beyond angry. "I can't believe he would do something like this! First he goes around acting like a wounded puppy because Rebecca leaves, and now this? If those monsters haven't killed him by the time I get to him he better pray to God I don't have these guns in my hand...BECAUSE I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Jill froze as Claire's words echoed through the dead silence of the City of the Damned like ripples in a still pond...

                        ****

Chris stopped in mid-stride and listened. He could have sworn he had heard Claire's voice, which was never a good thing. Resuming his stride, he hurried along, reloading the shotgun he had found on the decapitated corpse police officer lying in the street. He knew Claire would object to this, so he was counting on Jill to follow through with the plan...but there was no telling with those two when they got together. At any rate, he needed to hurry if he was going to make it to the manor before anything attacked him or another storm hit...Wesker wasn't getting away this time...

                        ****

The back door to the music studio building flew open and two figures darted out quickly and silently into the dark, dead night. Rebecca scanned the darkness before locating her small red sports car. "C'mon." She said motioning for him to follow. Quickly unlocking the doors, she jumped into the driver's seat, Billy into the passenger's and Rebecca started the car. 

At that exact moment, a dark figure landed on the windshield, causing Rebecca to scream in terror and Billy to aim his gun...

                        ****

"He'll be fine, it only bit him on the shoulder." Said Leon referring to Carlos, who now sported a ripped white T-shirt as a substitute gauze bandage. "Ok, but we'll need to get that treated as soon as possible," said Jill. Looking over at Claire, who was sulking, she sighed. "I know you want to go help Chris fight Claire, but he'd kill me if I let his only little sister go get herself killed." Claire didn't respond, she only stared off angrily into space.

Sighing again, Jill shook her head. "I know he's going to kill me for this...come on. He can't do this alone...and it's not just about him and Wesker, it's us too...you guys up for it?" Carlos and Leon looked at each other, then at Claire's threatening glare. "Yea...we're up to it..." said Carlos, Leon nodding in agreement. "Good, let's go!" said Claire. "I'M driving!" said Jill looking over at the large truck. "Leon, you can ride on the tailgate with Claire…" she said as they headed off, Jill in the lead.

                        ****

Rebecca glared angrily at David as he grinned sheepishly from where he lay pressed against the windshield of her car. "David, get off my car!" she shrieked. Billy aimed his gun at David's temple. "You're that prick from before...what the Hell do you want?" snapped Billy cocking his gun. "Ahh, don't shoot! Come on Becca, Baby, you gotta help me! Those...those THINGS are after me! C'mon Sweetcakes, let me in the car with you..." 

"QUIT CALLING ME THOSE NAMES!" snapped Rebecca, her patience long gone. "Just shut up and get off my windshield. Billy, you climb in the back." "WHAT?" "Please Billy?" shed pleaded as David scrambled off the hood of the car and rushed toward the passenger door. Groaning in annoyance, Billy slammed open the passenger door, purposely catching David off guard and knocking him over. "Oops...sorry.._.sweetcakes." he said, his voice reeking of sarcasm as he climbed in the back of the small car. Grumbling, David stood up and hurried into the car, slamming the door closed behind him. Before he could put his seatbelt on, Rebecca started the car and tore out of the parking lot._

"So where are we heading to? Hopefully another state...?" said David looking over at Rebecca as she flew down the street swerving to miss wrecked cars and such. "Winston Manor." She replied never taking her eyes off the road. "Winston Manor?!! You mean that huge creepy building in the woods?! The one that sits on the hill?! No way am I going there! I heard horror stories of some kind of weird experiments and people disappearing around that area!"

"Good...then get out of the car." Came Billy's dark reply from the backseat. David turned and glared at Billy. "Look, I'm sorry 'bout man, I didn't know who you were! You coulda been some terrorist after Rebecca or somethin'! How was I ta know you knew her? Speakin' of which, how DO you two know each other in the first place?" 

They had entered the deep dark of the forest, and Rebecca could vaguely see the outline of the large gates to the manor looming ahead through the steadily thickening fog. 

"It's a long story...we..." Rebecca never got to finish her sentence as her headlights washed over something small and petite...it was a small girl.  Terrified, the girl covered her face with her arms and shrieked in fear. Yelling in panic, Rebecca swerved, narrowly missing the girl. The car hydroplaned off the road and careened out of control before slamming into a nearby tree, sending Rebecca's small frame flying through the windshield and onto the ground a few feet from the car. There she lay unmoving...

Gah! Sorry, I know this is a bit of a cliffhanger, but I promise Becca's ok!  I wouldn't just kill her off like that…she's just too darn cute! ^_^; Besides…she's pretty important to the plot of this story…but we'll get to that later…At any rate, I'm off! I'll have chapter 9 up real soon…I promise! ^.~


	9. Rebecca?

Chris stepped carefully and quietly through the woods, taking great care not to make too much noise. He could hear the sounds of someone...or _something_ moving through the woods nearby. Trying not to let panic overtake him, he continued on, keeping a sharp eye out for anything suspicious...

            ****

Claire and Leon rode on the back of the truck, keeping a close eye out for any monsters on their trail. Claire had temporarily traded her Uzi's for a shotgun and was eyeing the landscape, searching for any sign of her brother, Chris. Jill strained to see through the steadily thickening fog. She knew the manor wasn't too far off, but if this fog didn't clear up soon...

                        ****

            Billy opened his eyes and groaned. He was outside of the small car, lying on his back. "What in the...?" he looked over to see David peering at him from behind a pair of crooked, but intact shades. "That was a close one..." he said. Sitting up, Billy felt a slight buzz in his head. He must have hit it pretty hard on that window when they had hit the tree...right before Rebecca swerved to miss whatever it was in the road...Rebecca! Where was she anyway? Looking around, Billy spotted his gun on the ground nearby and quickly scooped it up as he stood to his feet. "Where's Rebecca?" he said looking around, "Dunno...I just woke up myself not too long ago...pulled ya outta the car..." said David shrugging. Billy glanced over at the car and paled. He could clearly see the broken windshield from where she had gone through it. "Shit...she went through the windshield?! I thought she was wearing her seatbelt?!" "So did I..." Not replying, Billy hurried to search the area near the tree. "Wait! Isn't that Rebecca over there?" said David pointing. Billy quickly turned to see the form of a young woman with short red hair limping off toward the manor, her form slowly dissolving into the fog. "What? Where's she going?" exclaimed Billy turning and running after her. "Hey, wait for me!" said David chasing after him...

                        ****

            Rebecca stirred and opened her eyes. An eerie teal light filled her hazy vision. Before she could register what the light could be, it was gone without a trace. Blinking rapidly, she rolled over on her side and slowly pushed herself up into a standing position. Her left arm screamed in a painful protest and she grabbed it, gasping in shock as she gathered her bearings. Suddenly, she sensed eyes on her, and she looked over to see the small girl looking at her with frightened ice blue eyes...her eyes....there was something familiar about them...and her hair was long and red, like Rebecca's and was tied into two ponytails. She was dressed in a yellow summer dress with flowers all over it. She stood clutching a worn stuffed rabbit, watching Rebecca with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Rebecca turned to the girl, surprised. "So it was you...are you ok? I didn't hurt you did I?" said Rebecca in a soft tone, ignoring the pain that raged in her arm. The little girl didn't reply, she only stood there watching her warily. "Well? Are you going to speak to me?"

            Lifting a hand, the girl pointed to Rebecca's arm. "It's broken. Why don't you fix it?" she said in a small voice. Confused, Rebecca regarded the girl with a look of complete and total confusion. "Fix it? You can't just fix things like this..." she froze in mid-sentence as she heard the unmistakable sound of Billy's voice. Eager to see them, she followed the sound of his voice. Hurrying toward the car, she ran out of the brush just in time to see Billy and David disappear into the mist leading to the manor. Preparing to call their names, Rebecca was caught off guard as a large ape like creature jumped from the trees and knocked her to the ground. Attempting to gather her wits, Rebecca found herself staring into the thing's blood red eyes... Before it could inflict more damage, something flew through the air and blasted the thing off its feet, causing it to turn tail and run...

                        ****

            Claire blasted a large wasp-like monster with her shotgun and quickly reloaded. They had reached the mansion, but the gate was firmly locked...and there was no way to get in without the key. Looking over at Leon, Jill grimaced. Things weren't looking good. Claire glanced at the gate, then back at the truck, then smiled. Running over to the vehicle, she jumped in the driver's seat and started the engine since the keys were still in the ignition. "What are you doing?" exclaimed Jill. "Making us an entrance..." with those words, Claire put the truck in reverse and flew back a few feet, screeched to a halt, and switched it into gear and floored the accelerator, heading straight for the gate...

                        ****

            Chris had been following Rebecca through the forest at top speed ever since he had seen her limping at an alarmingly fast rate toward the manor. What was she doing here? And why was she heading to the manor alone? He'd just have to wait and see...

                        ****

Rebecca looked over at the little girl in awe. Lowering her still smoking hand, the girl walked over to Rebecca, and placing a hand on her wrist, smiled at her sweetly. "What....how did you just do that?" exclaimed Rebecca. "Just now you...you just shot fire from your hand!"

The small child nodded. "Of course...isn't that what we're supposed to do? You're the same as me, aren't you? I could tell when you fell out of that car...your cells kept you from dying..." Rebecca stared at the girl in disbelief. "What are you talking about? My cells? What?" 

Suddenly the teal light surrounded the two of them. "Listen...our bodies... are resonating..." said the girl. Rebecca suddenly felt her whole body tingling and her cuts and bruises from the fall began to disappear. Alarmed, she jerked her hand away from the girl and backed away. "Wh-What just happened?" she said panicking. The little girl didn't respond as she turned and stared at the darkness of the forest. "They're coming...they'll kill us if we stay here much longer. We have to go back..." said the little girl turning and heading toward the manor. Rebecca hesitated, rotating her now completely healed arm in disbelief. Puzzled, but curious, she quickly looked up and followed after the girl, all apprehension lost to sheer curiosity...

            ****

Billy and David hadn't been running long when Billy spotted a running figure out of the corner of his eye. Slowing, he put a hand up for David to stop and quickly raised his gun, ready to shoot. Carefully moving over to the tree he had seen the figure disappear behind, he stood leaning against it before quickly jumping out from behind it and aiming his gun...just in time to see a tall guy with short brown hair aim a shotgun at him.

"Who the Hell are you?" snapped Billy, not lowering his gun. "I think I should ask you the same thing, pal." Snapped Chris. Before they could continue the conversation any longer, David spoke from behind Billy. "Hey, we don't have time for this, Rebecca's getting farther away!" "Rebecca? How do you two know...hey, wait a minute... aren't you that manager of hers? The assistant one? What are you doing out here and why is Rebecca here and who is this guy?" 

"'This guy' is Billy Coen...and may I ask how do you know Rebecca?" Billy shot back. "Chris Redfield. Former STARS member...Billy Coen...that names sounds familiar...aren't you that ex-con that helped Rebecca out in the first incident?" said Chris. "Yea..." said Billy lowering his gun as Chris lowered his. "Yea...well just because you helped her just so you could survive too doesn't mean much in my book. Stay away from her." Snapped Chris turning and heading off, leaving a very angry Billy and a confused David behind...

"Well that went well..." commented David. Billy shot him a cold glare before turning and heading in the direction Chris had disappeared.

****

Claire grinned in triumph at the new hole in the manor's security fence. Shaking her head, Jill regarded the girl with a look of amusement. Claire...sometimes you amaze me..." Suddenly, the sound of rustling in the brush filled the air, and they all quickly spun toward the woods, weapons raised.

Chris emerged from the woods to see Leon, Jill, Claire, and Carlos all glaring at him, their guns raised. "Whoa...hey...it's just me." Said Chris stopping in his tracks. Letting out a sigh of relief, Jill lowered her gun as Claire rushed forward into Chris's arms. "Chris...thank God you're ok..." she said hugging him close. "Uh-oh...here it comes..." he thought to himself as he watched her facial features change from a look of sheer relief to extreme anger. "NOW I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she shrieked. Chris held up his hands in mock defense. "Hey, calm down, I was only looking out for..." "Yea, my safety, whatever! You know this isn't just about you and Wesker so why don't you just face the fact that we're all in this together?" Defeated, Chris nodded and went to say something but paused as he spotted the hole in the gate...and beyond it there was a figure barely visible through the heavy fog. It was Rebecca! "Rebecca!" he exclaimed as he hurriedly made his way through the hole in the gate.

"Chris, where are you going? You can't just barge into there! Wesker's probably set a trap for all of us!" said Claire running after him and grabbing his shoulder. "Yea...but look...it's Rebecca!" he said pointing. They all followed his gaze to the petite figure disappearing into thick fog surrounding the entrance of the manor. "Was that really her?" said Jill.

"That's what I aim to find out...come on." Said Chris leading the others toward the mansion.

                        ****

Rebecca followed the girl through the thick fog, throwing quick glances over her shoulder here and there. Where was she taking her? Stopping in front of a small rusty trapdoor, the little girl pointed at the handle of the door, then slowly raised her hand. As her hand moved, the door handle rattled as the door slowly rose, open, revealing a set of marble steps. Still clutching the small stuffed animal, the girl motioned for Rebecca to follow as she descended into the darkness that lay before her. Hesitating and looking around Rebecca blinked. That girl had just opened a door without laying a finger on it! What was going on here? Desiring answers, Rebecca followed after the girl, pulling the door shut behind her...

                        ****

Billy stood staring at the large hole in the fence. Looking from the hole, he glanced over at David, who was rummaging through the back of the large truck. "What are you doing?" said Billy, a hint of irritation evident in his voice. "Lookin' for some items we could poss'bly use...I mean, the idiot who did that to that fence is obviously not gonna live to claim these things...so why let em' go to waste?...YES!" exclaimed David producing a rifle and a shotgun. "Jus' what I was lookin' for!" he exclaimed. "Here, exchange that dinky little thing for this rifle." Said David grinning. "Gimme the shotgun. You're not worth wasting a shotgun on." David turned red. "No way man! I can shoot a gun jus' as well as you can!" he exclaimed. Clearly irritated, Billy walked over to the guy and stood, towering over him, an unreadable expression on his face. "I wasn't asking you to...I was telling you to give it to me...now."

David took in Billy's large frame...his large muscles, his menacing stare...the huge tattoo running down his arm...without thinking twice he handed Billy the shotgun and backed off. "Here, take it...sheesh..." he said. Turning and heading toward the mansion, Billy loaded the gun and took off running, not bothering to wait for David, he'd catch up if he wanted to survive. "Rebecca...where did you go...?" he murmured to himself.

            HAHA! I updated! ^.^ Told ya I wouldn't keep you hanging too long…although it took longer than I thought for me to get around to updating…sorry about that…but I promise not to do anymore cliffhangers like that unless I update the very next day…well, I'm off to bed!! 


	10. A Rose by Any Other Name

Wow…Chapter 10…already! I wasn't really expecting this story to be this long, but it seems to have run off on me! Anyway, here's Chapter 10…which I wrote and rewrote about 6 times and I'm still not satisfied with it!! ::kicks her writers block:: grr…I'm open to constructive criticism on this chapter! Anyway, enjoy! ^.^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  


Chris looked around the inside of the manor in awe. It was quite an elaborately furnished room, even for a mansion. As the others slowly wandered around, taking in the scene, Chris examined a nearby painting. It was of a long winding path leading into the woods, which were cloaked in a thick fog of some sort. Scratching his head, he continued to look around, as did the others. At that moment, a frantic voice sounded from the staircase, interrupting the group's examination of the room.

"Help! Someone please, help me!" exclaimed a voice. Startled, Chris did a double take as Rebecca stumbled at the top of the stairs and tumbled down a full flight of stairs as a licker chased her, swiping at her rolling form. "Rebecca!" exclaimed Chris quickly aiming his shotgun and letting of a stream of shots until the gun clicked empty. The licker lay twitching in a pool of it's own gore as it took it's last breath. Jill had already reached the girl as she lay at the bottom of the staircase stunned, but otherwise unharmed. "Rebecca, are you ok?" said Jill shaking the young girl, her eyes closed. Chris quickly pushed Jill aside and pulled Rebecca onto his lap, cradling her head. "Rebecca? Can you hear me? Are you ok? Speak to me!"

Suddenly the girl's eyes flew open and stared at him with cold, amber eyes that were like harden gems...Amber eyes? Chris froze. Rebecca's eyes were blue. Smiling, the girl sat up and quickly stood. "Thank you...those things are dangerous...."

"Who are you?" demanded Chris pointing his gun at the petite, red headed dame. "What are you talking about, Chris? She's Rebecca," said Claire hurriedly putting a hand on his shoulder. "Since when does Rebecca eyes that color?" Replied Chris flatly. Claire froze, as did the others. "Wait...don't shoot. Yes, I am not 'Rebecca'. My name is Rose..." said the girl quickly holding up her hands. "I awoke here at this mansion...I don't know how I got here...or who this 'Rebecca' is...do I look like her or something? And what is with all these monsters?" said Rose, her face taking on a confused look. Chris regarded her with a skeptical look. "Yea...right...I bet you work for Wesker." Rose paled at the name. "Wesker! He tried to kill me! Said I was 'In the way' of this plan of his...he's the reason all these monsters are here, isn't he? Why is he doing this? Why?" exclaimed Rose, her eyes filling with tears. Jill reached up and put a hand to Chris's shotgun and lowered it. "Chris...she's alone and afraid...you're only scaring her more...Rose, what exactly is Wesker's plan?" 

Rose shook her head. "I don't know...he didn't tell me...but he said something about destroying the STARS survivors once and for all...is that you guys? What did you do to him?" "Hey lady, we don't got time for all these questions. If you know where Wesker is, then tell us! We gotta stop him before it's too late!" cut in Carlos.

"He's got a point. We're running out of time. This will have to wait... I don't know what the deal is right now, but we're just going to have to trust her for now, Chris. Those things could reach other cities and infect them if we don't hurry...or worse...we could all be nuked just like Raccoon City..." said Leon. Claire nodded in agreement. Jill sighed and looked back at Rose, smiling sweetly. "They're right, we have to get moving...stay with us Rose. You can't escape this city alone. Don't worry, we'll protect you..." she said holding a hand out to the woman. Rose hesitated slightly, then took Jill's hand and smiled shyly. "Thank you...I owe you all my life."

                        *****

Billy tried the front mansion door, but found it locked. "What in the hell? Locked?" frustrated, he looked around for another way in. David, who had recently caught up to Billy, looked around and spotted a window a few feet away. "There...maybe we can break it open." He said pointing. "Way ahead of you..." said Billy heading over to the window. Pulling out his handgun from earlier, he took aim at the window and fired off 3 shots...

                        *****

Rebecca continued to follow the girl farther and farther into the depths of the mansion. They had long since stopped going down and were now wandering an ascending marble staircase. As they walked, she attempted to strike up a conversation, in hopes of making things a bit clearer. "What's your name?" "Miki...and you're Rebecca," said the little girl, never skipping a beat. "How do you know me?" said Rebecca. "Because you're Rebecca. How can I not know you? You are the same as me." "You keep saying this but how am I the same as you? I can't do what you do!"

They had arrived in a hallway of some sort. There were windows lined all down the walls leading to the outside. The little girl paused and turned to look at Rebecca. "They're coming." "What?" before Rebecca could say any more, the sound of crashing glass sounded and the room filled with crows. Crying out in terror, Rebecca grabbed Miki's hand and ducked her head, running from the room in terror. Opening the closest door she could reach, she stumbled into a hall and looked around only to discover it was filled...with zombies. Backing up against the door, she watched as bloodshot, caved in eye sockets and gangrene skin turned to her, their mouths letting out hungry moans of greed, their jaws hanging loosely out of disjointed sockets, their feet dragging against the floor like sawdust scraping against a board. They were surrounding her and Miki...and she was trapped. Looking around in panic, she spotted a large fire extinguisher nearby. Moving quickly, she hoisted the thing up and swung with all her might at two nearby zombies. "You're not getting us, damn you!" she shrieked. There was a loud 'thwock' as the metal connected with decaying flesh and the two zombies flew backward into the ground, twitching. Letting out a strangled cry, Rebecca swung at two other nearby zombies, watching as their heads flew off their bodies with a satisfying cracking noise, the heads hitting the ground and rolling away as the bodies slammed into the floor. After about five swings, Rebecca's energy was spent, and she found herself gasping for air. "My God...I can't stop them..." she said as she went to swing once more. Before she could inflict any more damage, she lost her footing, dropped the extinguisher and fell over, dizzied. Looking up in terror she watched as the zombies closed in for the kill. She could smell the musty, rotten death emanating from their decaying mouths. Terrified, she covered her face and screamed in horror. 

In that instance, the zombies burst into flames and fell to the floor, the smell of rotten, burning flesh filling the air. Removing her hands from her face, Rebecca looked around in disbelief. Her eyes then settled on Miki, who was staring down at her, one hand placed on Rebecca's shoulder "You let it go..." said the small child, smiling an eerie smile.

            *****

Wesker turned away from the monitor, an evil smile on his face. The fun had only just begun...and the best part was the fools had no clue what was going on...but they'd learn soon enough. Not after he enjoyed watching the fruits of their pathetic efforts, of course.

            *****

Chris was searching a hall on the first floor not too far from the entrance with Rose. Upon Carlos's suggestion, they had all split up into three separate groups in order to cover more ground. Leon with Claire, Jill with Carlos, and he with Rose. Chris hadn't been too thrilled about being paired with the suspicious woman, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, he had to keep an eye on her anyway...something about the coldness in her eyes told him she couldn't be trusted...and who was she anyway? She could be mistaken for Rebecca's twin sister almost immediately if it weren't for those amber eyes. But as far as Chris knew, Rebecca didn't claim any family at all, and she had been an only child anyway...so who was this girl? And what was she doing here in this mansion all by herself? Something was wrong about this whole thing. Glancing at the map he had picked up for the first floor, he didn't notice the hunter sneaking up behind him and the girl...

            *****

Billy watched in mild amusement as David struggled to remove his foot from the slimy substance in the toilet. Upon climbing in through the nearby window, the idiot had landed directly with one foot stuck in the foul smelling stuff while the other had slipped on a tissue dispenser and had rendered the hapless fool in a tangled mass on the floor, his boot firmly stuck in the slop. Not knowing whether to shake his head or bust a gut laughing, Billy fought the strong urge to let out a chuckle.

Finally freeing his foot David let out a despairing cry. "Man...these were my favorite shoes!" "Are you finished making a fool out of yourself yet? And clean that shoe off for the love of God...it reeks." Said Billy turning to head for the bathroom door...

            He didn't make it far as a drop of steaming saliva dropped from the ceiling to the floor in front of him. Freezing, he slowly looked up, a grim look crossing his face. David half limped over to his 'partner's' side and stood staring at him. "What's the problem? Finally tired of pickin' on me?" 

            Lifting his shotgun, Billy didn't respond, nor did he relinquish his stare. "Run...go...now." he replied in a low voice. "What? Why what's...HOLY SHIT!" exclaimed David following Billy's gaze. At that exact moment, a brain sucker dropped from the ceiling directly onto David...

                        *****

Chris looked up from the map at the sound of the scream. "In the hell...?" Before he could react, Rose's shriek of terror filled his ears. Spinning around, he watched in horror as a mutated hunter fiercely slammed its claws into Rose's midsection and sent her flying into a nearby wall. "What the hell is that thing?!" thought Chris, suddenly speechless. The thing had to be twice the size of the hunters he was used to. Was it some kind of new breed or something?

Ready to finish the job, the thing advanced on the defenseless girl, its fangs glistening in the dull light of the hall. Snapping out of his daze, Chris raised his shotgun and let off two well aimed shots, knocking the thing over temporarily. "Go! Run, NOW!" exclaimed Chris. Rose didn't hesitate as she leapt to her feet and half staggered, half sprinted down the hall, disappearing through a door on the far end, leaving a thin trail of blood behind...

            *****

Billy aimed his handgun carefully and shot at the brain sucker just enough to make it loosen its grip on the terrified man. Switching to the shotgun, Billy almost felt bad for the poor guy...almost. In reality he was actually more disappointed at the fact that he'd have to shoot the thing for the idiot...he had found David's high pitched shrieks and flailing dance rather amusing. Aiming the shotgun, he let off three on mark shots and watched as the thing fell to the floor, twitching. "Come on..." said Billy turning to leave...then pausing. Someone or something was moving in a nearby stall...and it didn't look too inviting. Not wanting to stick around any longer, Billy motioned for the still recovering David to follow as he made a quick dash for the door.

Running out into the bright light of the hall, Billy barely had time to stop as he crashed into something. Quickly aiming his shotgun, he glared down at the small creature only to discover it was...Rebecca. ...No...it wasn't her...or was it? She wasn't wearing the same clothes she had been wearing when he saw her earlier. The girl was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a torn silver tank top. A red stain was steadily spreading on her shirt as she bled from a fresh wound on her belly.

"Rebecca?!" exclaimed Billy lowering his gun. "Rebecca?" said David rushing up behind Billy and looking over the girl that half sat, half lay on the ground in front of Billy clutching her side. Getting down on his knees, Billy dropped his gun and placed both hands on the girl's shoulders. "Look at me...are you ok?" he said with urgency. The girl opened her eyes and Billy quickly let her go. Her amber eyes stared back at him like frozen glints of fire. Who was this girl? "That's not Rebecca," said David.

Before Billy could respond, a purple light surrounded the girl and David and Billy watched in astonishment as the blood on the girl's shirt disappeared and her wound closed up and ceased its bleeding. "…What are you?" Standing, the girl rubbed at her stomach, then looked at Billy and David, her expression unreadable. "I don't know...it just happens...I don't know what it means. My name is Rose...and what's that horrible smell?" she said wrinkling her nose and looking over at the muck splattered David…


	11. Deceptions

Hah! I'm finally updating! Sorry it took so long, what with work and a family reunion I've been a bit busy….and once again this is another chapter I struggled with…mainly because as I write, I'm still tweaking and changing things about the plot and the whole story behind this story…if that makes any sense x_x I'm hoping this will all flow smoothly into the ending I have planned, but we'll see…anyway, here ya go…Chapter 11!…^_^ Review if you will and I'm gladly accepting any constructive criticism! ^.~

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Rebecca stood staring at the piles of still smoking ash of what had once been a hoard of zombies. Turning to Miki, she restrained the urge to scream at her. "What did you do to me?" she said, an edge of fear in her voice. "And what-no-HOW did I do what I just did!? What's happened to me?"

The little girl didn't reply, she only looked up at Rebecca with a sad, distant look. "I always wanted to be a singer like you, Rebecca," she said, her eyes misted over with apparent tears. Rebecca quickly forgot her anger and confusion as she watched the child. The vulnerability and innocence she portrayed was heart breaking. She had almost forgotten that this child was that-a child-and nothing more. One trapped in the same terrifying situation as her. Despite the fact that she obviously knew more than she was letting on, Rebecca reminded herself that she was the only human contact she had in the whole manor...and her only companion for the time being, and vice versa. Reaching down and putting a hand on the child's head, Rebecca smiled a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to snap the way I did. Why don't we try to figure a way out of this mess?" Miki nodded and the two turned and headed down the hall, the little girl still clutching her stuffed animal tightly.

*****

            Claire sorted through the pile of papers on the desk in the living quarters she and Leon had wandered into. Leon searched the top of one of the bunk beds not too far away from her. Finding nothing of importance, he turned back to his partner. "Find anything?" he asked. Shaking her head, Claire turned from the desk, a perplexed look on her face. "Well, what about that?" said Leon pointing to a leather bound book, the initials "TJ" printed in gold cursive on the cover. "It's empty...a diary with blank pages..." said Clare in a somewhat baffled tone. "Hold on a second..." said Leon reaching past her and picking up the book. "That seems kind of suspicious...an empty journal? It looks somewhat worn to me...Plus it's kind of heavy," he said as he took note of the creases and signs of weathering on the book. "You think maybe it's invisible ink or something?" suggested Claire. "No...look at how the cover and the inside cover are...if what I'm thinking is right, then..." Leon trailed off as he ran his finger down the inside of the book, then, carefully, he pressed, then pulled as the book made a sickening cracking noise as the inner layer of the book gave way to reveal several folded up sheets of paper. "Eureka." Said Leon grinning triumphantly.

                        *****

            Jill stood leaning against the elevator wall while Carlos fiddled with his gun...

                        *****

            Wesker looked on at the unsuspecting couple. So they wanted to search the manor. Then he would just have to give them a special tour. Cackling to himself he reached over to the emergency elevator control program.

                        *****

            "Jill...Doesn't this all seem strange to you? That girl, Rose, something about her wasn't right...she just seemed so...I dunno...it was almost as if she was..." before he could finish his sentence, the elevator jolted and came to a halt. Surprised, Jill and Carlos looked over to the control panel only to see the elevator switch directions as it plunged downward.

            "What's going on? The controls aren't working!" exclaimed Carlos pressing buttons rapidly. Jill clenched her fists angrily. "It's Wesker...I KNOW it is!" she said angrily...

                        ***** 

            Chris watched in relief as the two hunters finally fell after a long, tiring battle. The little bastards had gotten him good. Right as Rose had run off, another one had jumped from the shadows and had slashed Chris straight across the back in a wound that still burned like the Dickens. Discarding the searing pain in his back, he turned and headed in the direction Rose had run to. Not sure whether to worry for her well being or to be suspicious of her whereabouts, Chris reloaded his shotgun and prayed there was a first aid spray or an herb somewhere nearby...

                        *****

            Billy regarded the 'Rose' girl with a blank stare. "Sorry about the gun. Can't be too careful..." he said before turning to head down the hall. He needed to find Rebecca, and fast.

            "Hey! Don't you ever warn someone before you decide to just up and leave them?" demanded David hurrying to follow Billy, Rose close behind. Billy didn't reply, instead, he spoke to Rose. "So...how long have you been trapped here?" said Billy. "I don't know...I just know I woke up here...and that I've been running from the monsters here...it's been so scary..." said Rose trailing off. "Oh really? And isn't it just amazing that you're still alive through all this? And unarmed at that! Oh wait...my mistake...you can heal yourself...wonder how that's possible? I guess you're just so lucky that you just *happen* to have that *amazing* power." Said Billy never skipping a beat as he headed down the hall. Rose's eyes narrowed into hateful slits. "Are you trying to say that I..." before she could finish her sentence Billy held up a hand to silence her, then stood completely still, gun raised slightly. "Stay here." He snapped, and with those words, disappeared through a nearby door, leaving a fuming Rose and a somewhat confused David behind.

            Rebecca followed the little girl down the hall. They were on what seemed to be an abandoned corridor of the manor, for there were no lights and Rebecca could barely see through the ghastly light of the flashlight she held. Her hands shook slightly as she walked. Thankful there seemed to be no monsters present on this hall, she tried to calm herself...until she heard them. They echoed nosily in her mind like loud music blasting from a stereo system directly into her ears. Silent sobs that echoed throughout the corridor and rang in Rebecca's mind like nails to a chalkboard. Covering her ears, she resisted the urge to turn tail and run. Instead she looked down at Miki questionably. "What is that sound?" she said. "It's Sissy Rowena...she's just a little lonely...come on...she's always wanted to meet you..." with those words, Miki stopped at a door and gestured for Rebecca to open it. All her senses awry, Rebecca, open the door slowly, and peered in, sweeping the flashlight into the pitch-blackness of the room.

            The room was practically in ruins. There were claw marks all over the wall. Some of them were crusted over with dried, caked blood from where someone apparently clawed till they bled. Rotten food littered the floor and stuff was strewn everywhere. Ignoring the horrible stench, Rebecca took a step forward into the room, and quickly flashed her light something moving out of the corner of her eye. There on the floor was a mass of trembling something. And then, it turned its head to Rebecca and froze in the intensity of the light from the flashlight. Suddenly the thing let out a shrill scream... 

                        *****

            Billy scanned the room, then carefully made his way into the room. It was some kind of laboratory. The walls were covered with monitor screens and there were many computers lined all over the room. There, in a separate room conjoined to this one surrounded with a thick glass barrier was a small compartment. Upon further investigation, Billy spotted what appeared to be an operating table of some sort. Drawing closer to the thick protective glass window, Billy spotted a pair of mangled, but still intact straps. There were signs of a recent struggle as operating knives and such lay scattered all over the floor.  What was this room? Some kind of torture chamber? Billy eyed the sharp operating tools nearby warily. He despised doctors and hospitals and the sort. Looking around the rest of the room, he spotted a small object on the floor. Bending over, he picked it up and examined it. A small plastic wristband...like the kind given to a patient by a doctor. This one read: :PB-001 Rowena. Pocketing the item, Billy spotted a first aid spray in the corner of the room and grabbed it. Just then, a bloodcurdling scream filled the air. Surprised, Billy turned and hurried out of the room. He had forgotten he had left David and Rose out in the hall unattended.

            Stepping out in the hall, he turned to see both David and Rose waiting patiently for him, equal looks of terror on their faces. "Can we leave now? Who knows what that scream means!" exclaimed David. Billy ignored the comment and looked around. "That sounded like Rebecca..." said Billy, and with that, he headed toward the direction of the scream, the others following close behind.

                        *****

            Chris had been following Billy and the others since he had spotted Rose and David talking in low voices in the hall outside the room Billy had been in. From the way they carried on, it seemed as if they were familiar with each other. Carefully tending to his wound with a green and red herb mixture, Chris was determined to find out what was going on, if it was the last thing he'd do...

                        *****

            Jill dashed for her life as what looked like a cross breed between a horse and a wolf followed in close pursuit of her and Carlos...it had he strong legs and hooves of a horse, but oddly was hairy and had large fangs and wolfish facial features. Carlos, who wasn't too far behind, attempted to fire a few shots to slow the thing down, but it was all in vain. Spotting a large metal door as it was lowering from the ceiling, Jill sped up a little more. "Come on Carlos, we can beat this!" she exclaimed as she and Carlos ran, now neck and neck, at the door with all their might...

                        *****

            It took Rebecca a few minutes to realize that the scream was coming from her. Covering her mouth, she backed away in sickened horror from the thing that sat staring at her. It was another one of her...but not. 'She' had straggly red hair as coarse as straw with sunken cheekbones and pale blue lips. Her body was deathly thin, her frame resembling that of a sickly anorexic. But that wasn't what had caused Rebecca to scream. No...it was those eyes...the same ice blue eyes that she saw everyday in the mirror...the same that Miki had. Come to think of it...Miki also looked a lot like Rebecca as well. Not just the eyes, but her facial features and body structure were the exact same way Rebecca had looked when she was that age. The girl on the floor rasped and held out a bony hand. "Mother..." she said through dry, cracked lips. Rebecca drew back in horror. Mother? What was going on here? Before she could think any further, Miki let out a gasp and quickly seized Rebecca's wrist, tugging her to a dark corner of the room. "Quick! Hide! She's here! She'll kill us if she finds us here!" declared the girl in a hushed whisper. Rebecca, too overwhelmed by the current situation said nothing.

            Billy looked around the corridor. It was dark, the darkest hall yet in the manor. Using the light of the candle he had picked up earlier, he made his way down the hall to the room Rose had said the scream had come from. Looking over at Rose, he noticed she looked a bit uncomfortable...she seemed to be having what looked like intense pain to the head. David was watching her silently. Deciding not to mention it, Billy turned back to the door and opened it.

            Pushing the door open all the way, Billy strained his eyes by the dim light of the candle as he took in the shabbiness of the room...who lived in this thing...or rather, what sort of creature dwelled in this hellhole? Keeping his shotgun ready for any attack, he let his eyes sweep the room. And then, something in the corner moved. Billy almost had a heart attack as the phantom like Rebecca look-a-like materialized before him in the flickering candlelight. Too shocked to shoot, he dropped the candle and it went out, dousing the room in darkness. Suddenly the girl began to glow a faint, weak yellow and the light illuminated slightly in the dark room. Looking past Billy, the thing spoke in a raspy, dark voice. "Get away from me...GET AWAY!!" she screamed as a blast of yellow fire emerged from her sickly frame, blasting the group off their feet. Stunned Billy sat up and stared at the thing in terror. "What in the...?" "Billy!!" Billy looked over just in time to be blinded by the intensity of a flashlight. 

            Rebecca quickly rushed from her hiding place when she discovered it was Billy who had entered the room. Rushing to his side, she helped him up. "Are you ok?" she said. Billy quickly pushed her off and stared at her. "Are you really Rebecca?" he said watching her closely. Rebecca froze. He didn't believe she was her...heck, she was starting to doubt she was herself nowadays too...that was when she froze. There, in the doorway of the room stood a girl who could pass as her clone glaring fiercely at her...only...her eyes were...yellow. Suddenly Rebecca felt cold all over. Something about that girl wasn't right.

                        *****

            Through all the commotion that was going on in that room Billy and the others had disappeared into, Chris had been waiting to make his move. They had located what looked like the real Rebecca...but now there was another Rebecca look alike... confused, he was about to make his move when a hand touched his shoulder. He spun around to come face to face with a relieved Claire and a grim faced Leon. "Chris, we've got something to tell you about that Rose girl that you should know..." said Leon. 

            Careful not to make any sudden moves, Rebecca tried to think of a way to convince Billy she was who she said she was. That was when she remembered the dog tags. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled them out and reluctantly held them out to Billy, not really willing to give them up just yet. Surprised, Billy took them from her and stared at them, then smiled a lopsided smile. So she still had those things? Yea...this was the real Rebecca...

            Before the two could exchange anymore words, Rose spoke up from the doorway. "Now that I've found my target, the real fun can start." Rebecca's mouth formed a terrified 'o' of horror as Rose pulled out the handgun Billy had had earlier and fired a shot into an unsuspecting David. Startled, the man fell to his knees and finally to the ground having been caught off-guard.  Shooting a glance at the others, Rose smiled wickedly.

Jill banged on the strong metal door fiercely, but there was no response. Peering out through the thick glass window, she saw nothing. "Dammit!" she exclaimed angrily. Carlos stood behind her, but didn't dare say a word to his already overly agitated partner. Giving the door one last bang in frustration, Jill sighed and turned to Carlos. "Now what do we do? The door's sealed shut and I can't break the glass on that window...I think its bullet-proof..." Jill trailed off as she looked around the place they were trapped in. Oddly enough, it was bright, almost as if they were outside in the bright sunshine on a summer day. Looking around, Jill took in the lush surroundings...grassy grounds, trees everywhere, and what appeared to be a lake. "Where the hell are we? Aren't we inside the mansion?! Where did all this come from?" Carlos just shook his head. "Well, wherever we are, it's right where Wesker wants us…we fell right into his little trap…" scowled Jill angrily. Finally speaking up, Carlos took a step forward. "Then we might as well start moving…if my guess is right, we're in even more danger just staying still in this one spot." He said as his eyes carefully scanned their surroundings. "You're right…let's go." Said Jill as she reloaded her gun and the two of them headed off into an uncertain predicament.

Yeeep….there ya go. The next chapter is pretty much already written, I'm just doing some major editing…but I promise it'll be up real soon! ^_^ Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter…it was another rough one to write and it still didn't come out perfect but, oh well…


	12. Diary of a Mad Scientist

Wow…after like, a whole month, I have returned! Sorry about the looong wait folks, I've been busy trying to get my stuff together for college…which starts next Monday for me. ~_~ Anywho, I fixed that horrible, horrible typo in Chapter 11…no Rebecca did not shoot David…XD Rose did…me and my sleep writing…pah…anyway, here's Chapter 12 after like…years…lol…sorry about the wait again…

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"DAVID!" screeched Rebecca as she took a step to run to him, but was held back by Billy. Smiling a cruel smile, Rose reached down, picked up the fallen man's rifle and swiftly kicked him in the side. "Stupid man...they always are. They'll do anything for a pretty face..." said Rose sweeping her hardened gaze to the now trembling Rowena. "Now be a good girl Rowena and go back to sleep you worthless little marionette." Said Rose. Rowena backed away slowly, her skin glowing a dim yellow. "Leave me..." she rasped. Snorting, Rose sneered at the corpse-like girl. "You're pathetic. Why Wesker would dare to keep such filth is beyond me. He should have disposed of you when you were first created. Worthless. Of course it takes a woman to get the job done." Holding up a hand, a small purple ball of electric energy formed in her hands and slowly grew to the size of a melon. Rearing her arm back, she let it fly. The room exploded in a ray of turquoise and purple light. Angered, Rose whirled to see Miki standing beside Rebecca, her hand still outstretched. "Miki...you little brat. Why aren't you somewhere in the forest being chased by the undead? Even if you do have that disease you're harder to get rid of than a damn cockroach!" Billy, finally over the initial shock of watching Rose and Miki's powers, cut in. "Rose, what the hell are you doing?" Rose turned and smiled at him coyly. "What? Don't tell me you actually thought I was a good girl? You've been with that little pixy over there too long...right...Rebecca?" spat Rose, her voice dripping with venom.

            Billy turned to Rebecca in surprise. "You know this girl?" Rebecca shook her head. "It doesn't matter if you know who I am or not...you're about to die anyway..." said Rose raising her hand slowly, her hair waving slightly as an invisible wind blew from her materializing power. Rebecca looked down to see Miki coughing uncontrollably, her little body shaking like a rag doll. "Miki...Miki are you ok?!" Miki continued choking. Panicked, Rebecca looked from Miki to Billy, to Rose's energy beam aimed directly at the three of them. Quickly thinking, she reached out her arms on either side of her, closed her eyes and prayed she would be right about this one. Two small, light turquoise balls of energy blasted both Miki and Billy away on opposite sides of her, knocking them out of harms way right as the blast nailed her directly in the chest, sending her flying through the wall behind her and into the next room, out of sight.

            Cackling, Rose lit another one and turned to Rowena. "It..." Rose was cut off as a shot rang through the air and hit her from behind, sending her flying face first into the ground. Screaming in agony, Rose swiped at the bloody mass on her shoulder blade from where the shotgun bullets had struck her. "I knew there was something wrong about you." Said Claire glaring angrily at the Rose. Chris looked over at Billy, who seemed to be digging through a mass of splintered wood from a huge hole in the wall. Looking around he didn't see Rebecca anywhere. Gritting his teeth, he looked back at Rose, who was now standing. Taking a hand from her wound and snarling Rose turned back to the group. Seeing how she was outnumbered, she quickly retreated to a corner of the room. "This isn't over." She snapped before disappearing through the wall. Relieved that she had gone, Claire quickly hurried over to the little girl lying on the floor, a look of pain twisting her diminutive features. "Are you ok?" she asked. The little girl only pointed to the stuffed rabbit that lay on the floor nearby. "Please...give her to me..." she said weakly. Quickly obeying her, Claire handed the child the stuffed animal as she helped her into a sitting position. Quietly, the girl reached into a pouch in the back of the rabbit and withdrew a strange looking puff inhaler. Too weak to do it herself, the little girl allowed Claire to take the inhaler from her.

As Claire tended to the ailing child, Chris watched in worry as Billy carried an unconscious, wounded Rebecca from the rubble. "What happened to her?" "Rose did." said Billy setting her down and checking her pulse. "She's still alive, but she took a lot of damage." Said Billy reaching for his first aid spray. "Don't use that." Said Leon stepping up beside Chris. "What?" Leon handed Billy a piece of paper. "Read this...apparently these girls are all part of some sick attempt at playing God...and Rebecca is the key to the whole thing." Taking the paper, Billy unfolded it and began reading.

_Robert Chambers_

_August 12th, 1983__._

_We've finally done it...we successfully created the Perfect Being by splicing the special chemical I created with the DNA of my own daughter, Rebecca. Despite the toxicity of the chemical, Rebecca's unique cell structure and DNA made her the ideal subject. Her body responded to it perfectly. Only 3 months and 10 days old, she has already started showing signs of enhancement. Able to lift things with her mind and control things with just a simple thought, she is remarkable. I am extremely proud to be her father. I know she will prove most useful to all my future endeavors..."_

Billy paled and lowered the paper, looking down at the unconscious Rebecca. "What does this mean? That she's just like all the rest of those...those things running loose out there?" Chris shook his head. "It gets worse," said Leon handing Billy two more papers.

_Robert Chambers_

_April 10, 1996___

_Rebecca seems to be very listless nowadays, even today, on her 13th birthday. Despite her extreme intelligence and her ability to solve any puzzle given to her, she seems restless and languid. Because of this, her appetite has diminished and has affected her psychic ability performance considerably. Without proper nutrients and minerals found in common compounds such as water, she is of no use. I better find out what is wrong fast, or else they will destroy her if they find her obsolete. I know Birkin would jump at the chance to ruin my hard work...he's always been jealous of me..."_

_Robert Chambers  _

_January 12th, 1998___

_"I have decided to pull the plug on this whole operation. Rebecca will die at this rate and it is evident that she lacks the social contact she longs for. I, unfortunately, cannot give it to her, so I have arranged that they erase her memories and seal her knowledge of her gifts and give her false ones of a happy childhood in a foster home. This will be my last deed as I am sure I will be discharged for this...I suppose this is my atonement to Heaven for all the dark sins I've committed over the course of my life. I pray that if Rebecca ever comes to know the truth of this that she will find it in her heart to forgive me."_

Billy fell silent as he looked back up at Chris. Not meeting Billy's gaze, Chris turned his attention to a nearby spot on the wall and pretended to stare intently at it. Claire, who sat not too far away from them with the now resting Miki in her arms, broke the silence. "Aside from those papers, we found evidence of the experiments being performed on these girls. According to one researcher's diary, the only somewhat successful experiment was test subject number 003, Rose...but according to the researchers, she was wild and uncontrollable, so they had to place her in suspended animation until they could find a way to brainwash her. As for the others...the original first clone, Rowena, and clone number two, this child Miki, they were written off as failed experiments, but were left to live to see just how long they would survive." Looking down at the slumbering child, a mixture of anger and sadness crossed her face. "Rowena contracted terminal cancer to her heart, lungs, and liver...the only reason why she's even still alive is because of the constant mutation of her cells, which enables the healing processes these girls have. Since she was the first clone, basically a prototype, they decided to keep her and performed experiment after experiment on her steadily weakening and decaying body." Claire trailed off as she clenched and unclenched her hands into angry fists, glancing over at Rowena, who had been cowering in the corner watching them all since Rose had left. She resembled a phantom crouched in the corner of the room watching through sunken in eyes. Shuddering, Claire quickly looked away, and, after taking a few deep breaths, continued her story. "Not too long after Rowena was diagnosed with cancer was Miki bred. This time with the second clone, they opted for a younger version of Rebecca in hopes that her youth would sustain her vessel. Miki's powers resemble Rebecca's the most, even in color and intensity. Unfortunately, she too is sick. Apparently her young and undeveloped body couldn't sustain the genetic process and the results mutated into a throat cancer. She developed a tumor in her throat and had to become dependent on her daily throat spray just to be able to breathe. As for Rose, they spliced Rebecca's genes that had already been tampered with and used a new virus called the R-Virus. This seemed to stabilize Rose's cells, but there were nasty side affects. Rose's eyes turned yellow, and her psychic energy is purple. Ever since she was made she's loathed and despised Rebecca. She hated it that she was just the clone of Rebecca and resented the fact that Dr. Birkin and Wesker were always talking about how they were going to find Rebecca and perfect her for their plans."

Barely able to register all of this, Billy tried to make sense of it all. Rebecca was someone he cared about, but she was also a possible threat to the world because she had components of a mutating virus in her blood...which meant she could change into some kind of monster at any time...especially now that her powers were awakening. Torn, he tightened his grip on the girl and said nothing. 

Rebecca stirred as she felt pressure on her arms. Groaning, she became aware of how sore and painful she was. 

"Rebecca?"

 She felt her heart leap as she slowly opened her eyes to see Billy looking  down at her with a strange look. Suddenly aware that she was in his arms, she made a move to slip out of them, but failed and quickly clung to him before she took a fall. Clinging to his chest, she breathed shallowly as sharp pains filled her consciousness. "Are you ok?" asked Chris quickly running over to the two. Nodding, she shut her eyes and concentrated on not passing out.

Leon, who had been quiet through all this, turned to David's corpse. They had just left the poor guy lying there to die. Scanning the room's floor, his eyes came to rest on the spot near the doorway. There was a small puddle of blood...but there was no sign of him. "Chris! David's body is gone!" "What?" said Chris looking around in disbelief. "Where the hell could he have gone so fast with those wounds?" "I don't know, but I'm going to go look for him!" said Leon. Chris gave him a long stare for a moment, then nodded. "Ok, but I'm coming with you...it's dangerous for you to go alone." Turning back Chris looked at Rebecca and Billy. Quickly reloading his shotgun, he regarded Billy with a dagger filled look. "If she gets hurt again, I swear I'll kill you." Billy just glared back and didn't respond. Having said this, Chris turned and headed out the door with Leon following in close pursuit.

Yeeea...let me know what you guys think…things should start picking up in the story now…


	13. Marionette 003

Yes…that's right…I'm BACK IN THE GAME! Sorry it's been so long since I updated this thing. A lot of stuff has happened in the past months. At any rate, I'm back and still kicking with three new chapters! I'll try to have 14 and 15 up before the end of the day, just gotta type them up first. As for all the great people who gave me reviews, thanks a lot to all of you and please keep giving me heads up on how you like the way the story is progressing thus far…^_^ well, I'll stop blabbing now…here's Chapter 13! Enjoy!

Oh yeah! Before I forget, when I post chapter 14 I will be changing this story to R rating for violence, language, and a little bit of gore…

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Rose stormed past the laboratory doors, letting them slam loudly in clear defiance. How dare that little wench ruin her plans! Furious, she reached behind her head and viciously ripped the short red wig from her head, angrily flipping her long, radiant red hair. "God I HATE that wig!" she snapped as she threw it to the ground. Fingering the still tender, but rapidly healing area of her shoulder blade, she struggled to contain her fury as she strode hurriedly towards the main operational room. If only Wesker would let her simply kill her and her stupid comrades! Lengthening her strides, she knew she would find Wesker waiting in the lab for the results. Arriving at the twin glass door, she reached for the touch-activated doorknob. Suddenly, she froze with her hand in midair as she heard the sound of his voice. He was talking to someone on the phone. Standing completely still, she honed in on his conversation with her enhanced hearing abilities.

"Yes, the subject is here. It is only a matter of time before 003 captures her and brings her to me...of course…I am well aware of that, but first I need to be rid of those former STARS fools first...Yes…yes, I know capturing Rebecca alive is top priority …I can assure you she is the _most_ important asset of this deal, I won't let anything stand in my way of retrieving her alive. Of course...consider it already done. Nothing will stand in the way of us and Rebecca." With that, he clipped the cell phone closed. Wesker then turned to the glass doors to see the clone paused at the door. Narrowing her eyes, she pressed a hand to the door panel and stepped into the room. The room was dark save the pale blue light coming from the monitors. Despite this, Wesker was still wearing his trademark shades. "Judging from that wound I presume it didn't go as planned?" said Wesker, his brows furrowing together in displeasure. 

Not bothering to respond, Rose stormed past him, into the small office just past the observation room. Throwing off her clothes, she stood naked with her back turned to Wesker, who appeared in the doorway behind her. "Who was that you were talking to just then?" she said, her voice unreadable. "Where did you get that wound?" said Wesker. She frowned and tensed. "Just a minor thing…nothing special…" she muttered quietly. "If it was so minor, then why don't we have the girl?" countered Wesker. 

Clenching her fists in anger, Rose narrowed her eyes into deadly slits, but said nothing. After a moment of silence, Wesker snorted and turned with his back to her. "You couldn't handle the simple task of bringing her in? Her powers aren't even fully awakened as yours have been and you still couldn't handle her? How pathetic. And now you have to waste half an hour of my time in the regeneration tank to recharge your energy cells. You know, I'm beginning to wonder if you really are of any use to me in retrieving-" 

"JUST WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT HER SO MUCH?!" snapped Rose whirling around, cutting him off. "You have me! I'm just as good as she is! Even better! She's WEAK Wesker," exclaimed Rose taking a step toward Wesker's back. "She could never serve you better than I could…" stepping closer, she pressed her naked body against Wesker's back. "You know that I'd never betray you…you know that, right?" she said softly, her eyes glowing a cold gentility as her long flowing hair spilled down her back. Wesker was silent and unmoving for a moment in such a manner that Rose looked up fiercely, a desperate look in her eyes. Finally, he spoke.

"If you were any better than her then you would have already gotten her for me by now," he said coolly as he quickly strode out of her grip heading for the control panel. "Get into the tank. You've done enough." Shocked, Rose stared at Wesker's back in astonishment. Taking a step back, she fought the urge to run to him. She had disappointed him. For this, she didn't deserve to live, she knew, but he was still willing to keep her even in her foolishness. "Of course…" she said quietly as she turned and wordlessly headed for the tank. Stepping into the cold chamber, she watched as the glass doors shut to her all too familiar prison. She had been left to rot there for so many years, that is, until Wesker had saved her. He had graciously taken her under his wing and she had never felt more loved. Crossing her arms over her bare chest, she waited for the cold to come. This capsule was just like her existence in so many ways. Empty and cold…

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~_~ poor crazy, psychotic and misunderstood Rose. Nobody loves her…^_^ except me! lol Well that's it for this chapter…the next two chapters will shed some light on Rose's past and her reason for being…well…psychotic. Let me know what you think!


	14. The Strings of a Marionette Pt 1

Well, as usual, things didn't really go as I had planned sooo I'm just now posting chapter 14…lol sorry. Hopefully I'll have chapter 15 up soon. ^_^ And much thanks to spider bear for your review! Makes me feel like my pathetic writing skills are actually good. Well, enough blabbing, here's chapter 14! 

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"It's so cold…"

Shivering, she opened her eyes and found herself staring into a black nothingness. Where was she…and for that matter, who was she? She tried moving her arms and legs. It was then she discovered she was in some sort of tube. Her arms, legs, head, everything was connected to thousands and thousands of tubes and wires…blue ones, green ones, red ones, and purple ones too. 

Suddenly, the sound of a female voice boomed before her and a bright light flashed on her, temporarily blinding her. "Experiment 003…Experiment 003…can you hear me?" Blinking rapidly against the harsh lights, she struggled to comprehend. What was she saying? She was speaking in a tongue that sounded distantly familiar…English…_"English? What is that?" _she wondered. Almost immediately the answer came to her. "The language you speak." At that thought, she felt a searing pain grip her body as all the wires and tubes suddenly retracted and snapped from her body. The capsule she was floating in drained of all its liquids and the glass door flew open, sending her sprawling, naked and coughing onto the floor below. Disoriented by the lingering pain, she dizzily sat up and moved into a sitting position. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she watched through a dark mass of wet hair as the people approached her slowly. She was terrified. Suddenly the room seemed to explode with the color purple and the people began screaming in excitement. Covering her ears, she let out a scream herself just as everything went black.

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"Cold…why is it always so cold…?"

Dark thoughts…dark images…She opened her eyes to see a bright white washed out looking room. Looking down, she realized that she was now dressed in a small white summer dress and was strapped down to some sort of table. Alarmed, she struggled against the restraints in a futile effort. Suddenly, she froze. A door from the far corner was being opened and in walked in a tall, lanky man and a short frumpy woman. "What is the current status on this one?" "She seems to possess the extraordinary powers we are searching for…but she has many…defects…" replied the woman handing the man a clipboard. "Really?" he said adjusting his spectacles in an uninterested manner. "Yes…her powers grew so rapidly and quickly. Just minutes outside of the tank, she demonstrated amazing powers…however she killed seven of our staff and injured three…plus she damaged the equipment…" The man didn't reply. "Not only that, her…her eyes…they're yellow…like a demon's! They aren't the normal blue." With those words, the man approached the table where she lay. Something about his presence made her flinch. Towering over her, he stared down at her silently. "She may be of use to us. We just need to work on her a little…" resting a hand on her face, he smiled coldly. "Isn't that right 003? Hmm…I'll have to give you a suitable name…you look delicate to the touch but it is obvious that anyone who touches you will feel a slight stab…you're like a rose…that's it. Rose. Do you like that name?" he said, his eyes showing in an emotionless way. She nodded slowly. She had never had anyone talk to her like that before. She was a child in a teenager's body. Just newly born. Reaching over the man undid her straps and offered her his hand. "Come Rose…let us go." Hesitating slightly, she took his hand. As the years progressed, Rose aged very slowly, if at all. In time, her powers were developed under the care of Professor Black, her master.

002 watched Rose from her corner of the room with a blank stare. Rose sneered at her. She hated the way the little brat insisted on staring at people all the time. And the way she was always talking about "Rebecca". It made her sick to her stomach. Professor Black had been doing that recently too. All he cared about nowadays was finding Rebecca because she was the "Perfect Being". As if Rose wasn't perfect enough for him. She already had superhuman strength, had powers that were out of this world, and she was loyal. Even still, with each passing day, his obsession with Rebecca grew worse and worse. That was what made her hate Rebecca the most. She hated the fact that she looked just like Rebecca and yet, at the same time she hated it that she was different from her because of her eye color. If she had blue eyes like Rebecca and short hair, maybe-just maybe, it would have pleased the Professor. The thought of that brought such a bitter taste to her mouth she wanted to gag. What nonsense, Professor Black would never abandon her…he was the only one who truly understood her. At that thought she narrowed her eyes into hateful slits at 002.

"Stop looking at me like that you freak." Snapped Rose. 002 ignored her and continued watching her with large, innocent blue eyes. Innocent, but knowing. Disgusted, Rose shifted her gaze over to the other corner of the room to where 001 sat curled up in a fetal position. She was mumbling to herself in a crazed manner. Snorting, Rose turned and left their sleeping quarters and headed for the main laboratory where she knew she would find Professor Black. 

As the automatic sliding doors parted, Rose stepped into the bustling lab and glanced around. Scanning the sea of swarming white coats, she spotted his familiar disheveled mop of black hair. A smile slowly crept across her delicate features as she quickly made her way to the corner of the room in which he stood with his back to her talking to someone. When she was about 4 feet away, she froze at the sound of that name. She was sure she had heard him say it. Listening closely, she honed in on their conversation. 

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"…feel that…obsession…" even though she had exceptional hearing, the noises in the room were throwing off her senses. Concentrating harder, she managed to pick up the whole conversation.

"…I have no obsession with this assignment, sir. I am just a dedicated worker. I like to get my work done properly and efficiently. That's all."

"Ah, good…that's what I was hoping to hear. Now, about those clones of yours…what do you plan to do about them?" "That has been taken care of." "And 003? I've heard that she possesses extraordinary powers, but she herself has proved wild and uncontrollable. It's also been rumored that she's been murdering innocent researchers! Are you sure you want to risk having something like that around? Can you really control her?" "She does whatever I tell her to…she is very loyal. Besides, she is expendable, a clone. If she chooses to misbehave I can simply terminate her. There are more where she came from…"

Rose froze at the impersonal words. Stepping back, she didn't see the operation table that was being wheeled behind her until she ran into it, sending operating tools flying in a loud clatter. Surprised, Professor Black spun around to see Rose flip over the table and dash out of the laboratory in amazing speed as the other researchers looked on in surprise. Frowning, he wondered how much she had heard.

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Standing on the edge of the roof of the large building, Rose stared off into the distance. All around darkness was descending as the sky filled with clouds. As the first few drops of rain touched her with cold, unforgiving fingertips, she spotted a speck of white on the ground below. She continued watching as the 'speck' hurried across the ground below in an attempt to avoid the rain. Smiling to herself, she knew what it was she wanted. Shutting her eyes, she stepped forward and off the building…and let herself drop…

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And she slips into the lower levels of insanity! Will no one truly love Rose? Poor little discarded clone doll…thing…oh well…at least she gets to kill things…lol. I'd say it's a fair trade if you ask me. Well, I'mma work on typing up part two of her tragic little story so I can post it by this afternoon hopefully. Then we can get back to the others and their little predicaments…^_^I'll be awaiting your thoughts on this chapter! Thanks again!


	15. The Strings of a Marionette Pt 2

Well, like I said, this story was gonna be bumped up to R rating for violence, gore and language sooner or later and that later has come. If you're squeamish or just don't like insanely murderous people, skip this chapter…I'll do a clean recap for you in Chapter 16…otherwise, you've been warned. Read at your own risk. =) I know I loved writing it. Anywho, here's part two of Rose's little tragic life…

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The rain ran down her slim, agile body in tiny scarlet red rivers. Slowly lifting her hand to her mouth, she licked the remaining blood that remained there. It tasted like bittersweet loneliness. Everything seemed to taste like that nowadays it seemed.

Her victim, a young woman in her mid twenties cringed on the ground where she lay holding her bleeding wound. "Come on…I'm bored. Amuse me. Why don't you fight back you pathetic little _thing_!" she said as she dealt the woman a swift kick in the ribs…right in the area of the wound. Gasping in agony, the woman tumbled a few feet and came to a jolting stop as she slammed into a nearby tree trunk. Striding over to where the woman had pulled herself up into a sitting position, she smiled down at her in a deranged fashion.

Sputtering as she coughed up blood, the woman struggled to speak. Her cruel smile spreading, Rose put a hand to her ear. "I'm sorry…what did you say? Speak up!" she said in a sing song voice.

"FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING PUPPET!" screamed the female researcher as she spat blood with every word, her once white lab coat now soaked in a crimson red. 

"…Puppet…?" repeated Rose in a deadly calm tone. Determined, the woman didn't back down. If she was going to die, she was going to go down fighting. "Yes! You're the same as the other ones! A mindless, empty shell! A marionette with no soul or a heart! Heh, but little do you know, you're worthless now! USELESS! Did you really believe Professor Black would keep something as expendable as you around? That's right, your EXPENDABLE! ALWAYS HAVE BEEN AND ALWAYS W-" her words were quickly silenced as Rose suddenly lashed out and grabbed her by the face, bringing them face to face. "Expendable…?" she snarled in fury before calmly speaking her next statement. "Puppets…" she said, "have removable limbs…just like dolls…" she said darkly. The woman's eyes widened in horror as Rose grabbed a hold of her left arm and, without warning, violently twisted and jerked it out of it's socket. The sickening sound of cracking bone and tear flesh filled the air. Shrieking in agony, the woman threw her head back as her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"What's wrong? Don't wanna _play_ anymore?!" yelled Rose as she quickly dropped the arm and snatched the other one, tearing it off completely in one swift yank. She then used the hand that still held onto the woman's face and slammed her into the ground. She smiled wickedly as the familiar sound of the shattering skull filled the air along with the 'sploch' of the woman's brains spilling into the earth. The body gave one last shudder before going completely still. Satisfied, Rose straightened up, still holding the woman's right arm. "Who's the puppet now, bitch?" she hissed bitterly through a blood splattered frown.

Falling silent, Rose watched the shadow that had appeared behind her get bigger and bigger before she finally spoke. "What do you want?" she said acknowledging the presence of Black behind her.

Professor Black stared silently at the woman's corpse. She had been one of his best researchers. "Rose…"

She hesitated, then tossed the arm she had still been holding onto aside. "What is it now, professor? Come to remind me of how much you love your precious Rebecca?" she said quietly.

Black ignored this remark. "It's time for you to go." He said. "Oh…is it…?" she said as she quickly lit a fireball.

Before she could go any further, Black pressed a button on a small remote control. At that, Rose fell to the ground, motionless. Shaking his head, he bent over and picked up her motionless body. The temporary suspended animation mechanism he had secretly inserted into her brain cells had worked like a charm. "Oh well…there will be more where you came from…" he said as he headed for the sleep chamber…

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Opening her eyes, Rose watched as Wesker initiated the cell regeneration process. Re-shutting them, she let the familiar cold wash over her once more…

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Yea…I don't even know what to say after writing this except that thanks to so many distractions (i.e. my NAGGING MOTHER) I now have a bad case of writer's block. ~_~. At any rate, I start back with classes tomorrow, but I'll try to start writing chapter 16 tonight…hopefully…lol. Uh…sorry if this was crap…sometimes I get carried away with the happy killing gore…stuff…it's what I like.


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